Chapter Text
David Wymack did not get paid enough for this. He got paid to coach a Class I Exy team. He got paid not make sure Andrew didn’t actually murder anyone. He got paid to get his kids to the court and whip their asses into shape. He probably didn’t get paid enough to deal with traumatized, violent teenagers on a daily basis but he walked right into that one on his own and refused to regret it.
He did not get paid to come to his office only to have the door blocked by a vaguely human shaped bleeding mess.
God, Wymack hoped this wasn’t one of his Foxes. He wasn’t sure he could stomach it if that was one of his player’s unmoving forms. This would be hard enough if this was just a nameless body and a convenient dump sight. That would be tragic - sure - anything involving dead bodies often was, but it wouldn’t gut him. It wouldn’t hurt like seeing one of his Foxes’ corpse left out to rot. Wymack had been waiting all summer for Raven retaliation since Kevin had announced his decision to sign with Palmetto State.
He hoped this wasn’t their choice of communication.
Slowly approaching the kid Wymack’s heart nearly stopped once he saw the slight rise and fall of the boy’s chest and quickly whipped out his phone only to freeze once he got closer. This wasn’t something that should be handled by the police, not yet. This was Edgar Allen’s doing, no question. The less police involvement the more likely less bodies would show up.
He switched his dial from 911 to his number one speed dial, his eyes never leaving the boy’s face. The number three had been viciously carved into the boy’s cheek and it stared at Wymack like an accusation.
What trouble could taking on one more traumatized Raven cause, anyways? That assumed Nathaniel Wesninski made it past sunrise.
--
It was common knowledge in the Foxes’ circle that Kevin Day slept like the dead. That did not mean that Andrew and Nicky did which made for a very unpleasant morning for everyone involved when Kevin’s phone starts ringing non stop around 5:30 in the fucking AM. The chaos doesn’t end until everyone is sporting fresh bruises and there’s a shoe stuck on the ceiling fan. (Thank you so much for that, Andrew. What would we do without you?)
“Coach?” Kevin answers, still partially in a sleep daze but at the sound of his father’s voice he instantly pales.
“No. No. No,” is all Kevin seems capable of saying to Andrew takes the phone.
“Explain why you just sent my charge into cardiac arrest?” he asks, sounding for all the world like he doesn’t give a damn.
“Just get his ass over to the stadium and I will buy you as much alcohol as you can drink in one sitting. Bring Renee and Boyd along. I don’t want to hear it Andrew. Do whatever you have to short of permanently maiming them for the rest of the season,” Coach snapped before hanging up.
“Kevin, the fuck was that about?” Andrew assumed it was technically a question but both of them knew better.
“Nathaniel Wesninski,” Kevin said, like that explained everything and in a way it did. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge but anyone obsessed with the Ravens knew that name. Rumored starting backliner for Riko’s perfect court. Tabloids were running with the story of this mystery player, printing pictures of a no-name kid with an easily photoshopped #3 on his cheek. Andrew wouldn’t have believed the rumors except for the way Kevin went ashen when he saw the articles published and the guilt clearly eating away at his face as he looked at those blurry photos for minutes on end.
“We’re going. Do whatever coach told you to do, we need to fucking go.”
“Give me a reason, Day, or I’m not going anywhere.”
“He might die. He’s probably going to die.”
“Next,” Andrew said, cleaning his fingernails disinterestedly with one of his knives.
“Jesus, Andrew-” Nicky starts only to have Kevin cut him off.
“Because he’s family,” Kevin says abruptly. Andrew flicks his eyebrows up but continues to stare uncaring as he moves to grab his keys.
“We need Renee and Boyd. Nicky, take care of it.”
Nicky's eyes widen. Renee was by no means a leash for Andrew but she was the closest thing they had. Coach must be truly desperate. How Boyd factored in, Nicky isn't sure but he doesn't want to ask. Instead he just sprints to their room down the hall.
Matt is already up and waiting for him once Nicky began knocking. Coach obviously didn't expect Andrew to pass along the message.
"Renee is meeting me at my truck. Is your monster up and moving or do I need to go kick his ass?" Matt asks, pulling shorts on and grabbing his car keys.
"Up and moving," Nicky says, smartly moving out of Matt's way.
"Good!" Matt calls, already making his way to the stairs. "Gather the team! Meeting at the court at 10!"
Nicky groaned. This meant he had to wake Aaron up. Today must be a day for poking sleeping bears.
--
Abby had too much blood on her hands. None of it belonged to her Foxes but that didn't make it hurt less. This was a boy, probably not even 18 yet, carved up like a piece of meat and left to bleed out on their front door.
David was right next to her, helping stitch up these new wounds on top of old scars. Luckily the poor kid stayed unconscious through it all. They were still in the middle of it when Kevin and Andrew arrived at the court. If Abby hadn't heard them come in then she definitely would've noticed when Kevin made an almost inhuman squeal at the sight of the boy spread out in front of them.
"My office," David ordered, barely looking up towards the boys. "And Andrew don't let him drown in vodka yet I need him sober!"
“David,” Abby said, voice cracking. Abby knew she couldn’t do enough. They had a well stocked first aid kit but there was too much unaccounted for. There could be internal bleeding. At least one of Nathaniel’s ribs was cracked, if not broken. It was a different monster entirely when it came to Nathaniel’s mangled foot.
Riko was a monster of a different bleed if he could do this to one of his own.
“Just do what you can,” David said as gently as he knew how.
They were lucky. As lucky as they could be considered in this situation. As far as Abby could tell without an x-ray it was only an Avulsion fracture, not a Jones which meant no surgery and a high recovery rate. Abby couldn’t be 100% sure but she was at least confident as David helped her realign the bone and then wrap and elevate the foot.
Once Abby knew that she could handle this on her own she sent David back to Kevin. It was bad enough last winter to have Kevin showing up out of the blue with a broken hand and a desperate look in his eyes. Abby didn’t know exactly how painful it would be when Nathaniel woke up but if he was anything like Kevin it would hurt like hell.
It didn't even cross her mind that Nathaniel was a Raven. He had been left on the doorstep of her home mangled and left to die. He was a Fox now and Abby would not give him up without a fight. None of them would.
--
"Why the fuck do I have an unconscious Raven in our medical room?" Coach demanded, looking at Kevin. Kevin just shook his head wordlessly. His face was buried in his hands as he sat bonelessly in one of the chairs.
"He shouldn't be here," Kevin says and Wymack sighs. No fucking duh the kid wasn't supposed to be here.
"But here he is. Interesting that," Andrew said.
"Seriously Day, who even is this kid?"
"His name is Nathaniel Wesninski and Riko's number three, backliner. He’s been marked for perfect court for almost as long as he’s been with the Ravens."
"He's been marked alright," Wymack said, feeling sick. He couldn't get the sight of Riko's new branding techniques out of his head. He could just pray that Nathaniel was unconscious when it had happened but somehow he doubted it.
"The kid has - had - fuck I don't know - talent. He could outplay me and Riko on our best day," Kevin said. Wymack didn't miss the fear in Kevin's voice. He knew better than anyone what happened when you bested Riko Moriyama at his own game. "He was slated for starting line up this upcoming fall. I can only guess Nathaniel went too far this time. God knows he did it enough when we were kids..."
Kevin fell into silence and Wymack didn't try to get him talking again. Instead he just poured out a glass of vodka for the Striker as Matt and Renee walked in as Andrew walked out. He needed Kevin to be much less sober to bring up Nathaniel’s broken foot so as not to send Kevin spiraling into blind panic.
Matt and Renee looked to coach to the glass of vodka to the blood staining their coach sent dread settling in their stomachs.
"What's up coach?" Matt asked a little warily. Getting a morning call to get to the court ASAP to find your coach covered in what Matt hoped was somebody else's blood was unusual even for Foxes.
"We apparently seem to have a nesting problem because we've got another Raven."
"You're shitting me, right?" Matt asked, mouth gaping. Coach's defeated sigh was enough of an answer.
"This one was hand delivered all carved up like a Christmas turkey," Wymack said bitterly. Renee and Matt looked at each other and then back at coach like somehow that would make any if this easier to swallow.
"Matt, I want you to be there when he wakes up. Like fuck I'm going to let that kid wake up to one of the monsters. Renee, you're here incase Andrew tries to kill him. Not that there's much you can do but at least you might be able to perform last rights or something."
Renee smiled one of her sweetest, most gentle smiles but was kept from answering by Abby's appearance.
If Wymack looked bloody it was nothing compared to the team nurse. She had wiped her hands down has best she could without nearly scrubbing her skin off but dark red still clung to it with a viciousness.
“I think he’ll be okay. We won’t know until he wakes up if he’ll need a hospital but…” She sent a searching look at Coach and then sat at Kevin’s side.
“Boyd, go get Andrew and keep the kid company. Renee, I want you to check in with the other upperclassmen. Don’t give them specifics yet but tell them to get their asses down to this court as soon as they can,” Wymack said as he poured Kevin another glass. The striker downed it just as quickly as he had the first one, guilt eating away at his face.
Matt nodded quickly, making his way to where Nathaniel was currently hidden. Renee didn’t get up until Andrew entered the room. She gently brushed her shoulder against Andrew as she went to go make her calls.
“One more glass and then we’re talking again. Okay, Day?” Wymack asked, holding the bottle hostage until he saw Kevin nod. That sat in silence for a few minutes until Wymack braced himself and finally opened his mouth.
“His foot is broken,” Wymack said, looking directly at Kevin. He didn’t flinch as the crushing pain and fear that entered those green eyes but it was a near thing.
“He’s a message,” Kevin choked out. “They’re trying to get me back. They’re trying to take me- I can’t-”
“Look at me,” Wymack demanded. “Look at me, god damn you, and breathe.”
Kevin set his wild eyes on Andrew. “I told you they would come get me! I told you!” Andrew just glared, mentally backing Kevin into a corner where he would have no choice but to listen. Andrew was a crazy, ruthless little shit but he was a crazy, ruthless little shit with a promise to keep to Kevin Day. He was the last person who should be a calming presence for anyone but here they were.
“It doesn’t matter. You signed a contract with me,” Wymack said, trying to force Kevin’s attention back on him. “It doesn’t matter how much money the Moriyamas shove my way. We both know it means nothing if you don’t sign on the dotted line.”
“I can’t tell Riko no!” Kevin said only to have Andrew cut in.
“Then you will say nothing,” he snarls. “You are not going anywhere Day. Do you think I cannot keep my promise?” Andrew’s eyes are cold even as he’s flying as high as a kite. In a different world it would chill Wymack to his bone, now it just makes him press his lips together and nod.
“Good. You let me and Andrew worry about Riko fuckface. You worry about the game. We all just have to do what we know how to do and we will be fine.”
The way Wymack said it almost made Kevin believe things might be okay in the end.